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Former Obeid lawyer says signature forged

Sam McKeith

A former lawyer for the Obeid family claims his signature was forged on documents at the centre of a corruption inquiry into the granting of coal exploration licences in the NSW upper Hunter.

Mario Sindone, a former lawyer for the Obeids, told the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Thursday that his signature was faked on documents that record him as a director of a company allegedly associated with the Obeid family.

Shown a letter from Buffalo Resources to Cascade Coal displaying his signature, Mr Sindone agreed with a suggestion from counsel assisting the Commissioner, Geoffrey Watson, that the signature was a fake.

Mr Sindone said he was 95 to 99 per cent sure his signature was also forged on another document relating to Buffalo.

ICAC is investigating how former resources minister Ian Macdonald's 2008 decision to grant mining licences in the Bylong Valley may have benefited Eddie Obeid.

The inquiry has previously heard that Buffalo was used to disguise the Obeids' involvement in the Bylong Valley.

Mr Sindone said he signed on as a director of Buffalo without knowing what business the company was in, if it had a phone number, or what its address was.

He said he was told he would be a director only for a brief time and that he resigned shortly after taking up the role.

The inquiry also heard evidence from Mart Rampe, a former director of Monaro Mining, a uranium miner that had bid on coal licences in the area before getting "cold feet" and pulling out.

Mr Rampe was shown an internal company memorandum from September 2008 in which it stated that Gardner Brook, a former senior vice president at Lehman Brothers, could guarantee a transaction for Monaro.

The inquiry has previously heard that Mr Brook was asked by the Obeids to find a company that could partner them in a mining venture in the Bylong Valley.

The Monaro memo stated that Mr Brook had approached Monaro following "unofficial recommendations" from the Department of Primary Industries.

The inquiry was also told that Mr Rampe met with Mr Brook and a person described as being a "middle eastern interest" at the Sydney offices of Lehman Brothers.

Mr Rampe said he did not know who the person was, or if they were a member of the Obeid family.